Watching Obama’s display last night I was pretty depressed. Unlike some commentators (Bill Kristol, Jay Nordlinger) I found it the most conventional imaginable speech, as if the tired ideas of a Walter Mondale were dressed in a production by Zhang Yimou. Yes, the whole affair put me in mind of the Beijing Olympics – all flash and no substance – except they didn’t have a director of the level of the brilliant Zhang, just a lot of fireworks and a pompous set. Obama looked angry to me.

Meanwhile, McCain has picked a woman. I don’t know enough about Sarah Palin (of course I know some and will know a lot more, I’m sure) but John McCain has once again shown he is willing to, in fact eager to, move in a positive and (relatively) unexpected direction. He is his own man. Obama – the agent of change – picked the most conventional of the conventional. But then his speech was the same way. The media, of course, swallowed like eager, brainless adherents – another indication that liberalism is not only dead, it’s decomposed.

UPDATE: Speaking of walking the walking, although she opposes same-sex marriage, which they all do, Palin seems to be by far the most advanced of all four candidates on gay rights. She’s actually put them into law. Way to go. (see Wikipedia)

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The old media will savage her, of course, like they did Dan Quayle years ago. But she’s a lot smarter than Quayle, and a lot better looking. And seventy-two hours later, the story will turn back, as it always does, to comparing the nominees, B. Hussein Obama and Mac.

Both McCain and Obama have recognized that the election will be decided by women. Obama showed this by giving a typical Democrat laundry list speech. That was the speech that Hillary would have given had she been the nominee. It was not a all like his previous speeches. Of course, the Democrats over at Washington Monthly are ecstatic because he finally gave “specifics.”

McCain recognized the same dynamics and picked an attractive young woman who is libertarian, a reformer and genuinely pro-life. He solved a number of problems for himself, including energy policy, with this choice.

This is the most important fact one needs to know about Sarah Plain: she is adamantly for oil drilling in the so-called protected areas of our country! It is the winning issue which will destroy Barack Obama and the Democrats. The hard core leftists will not give an inch on this perceived secular religious issue.

Now that I know McCain didn’t pick the guy from Monty Python (that would’ve been a dark horse!) — just kidding — it actually seems like a shrewd move.

Only vaguely familiar with her, I read Palin’s bio and found that she indeed seems quite capable. There’s a lot more on her resume than Mr. Community Organzier has, that’s for sure.

I can’t wait to watch the insanity on MSLSD, as they fashion reasons to discredit the pick. Mother Pelosi was feted with triumphant coverage for her multi-tasking genius (/retches a little bit). Something tells me this mother of five is in for different treatment.

Sarah Palin’s gender is also a big plus. Guilt tripped whites now have to balance out their enthusiasm for a “man of color” with voting for a woman who will only be a heart beat away from the presidency itself.

I read her bio and have to agree on all fronts a great selection. It is a genius pick. It will energize the base and speak volumes to those who are called independents looking for someone who takes a lunch pail to work. Her husband is apparently an oil field worker. She’s already been called a soccer mom from those on the left. When told her child was to be born with Down’s Syndrome, she did what was right.

This is one Jew who loves this Pentacostal and will now send a couple of bucks to the cause.

I have always used Prager’s comment about the Republicans being the party of the stupid and Dems party of the dangerous. They remain dangerous, but it looks like we became smarter.

As for the prospect of her being vice president, Palin told Kudlow that she could not answer the question of whether she wanted the job “until somebody answers for me what is it exactly that the VP does every day. I’m used to being very productive…

It’ll be interesting to see how many cheap shots Biden will take at Palin, even before the two of them debate. I think it greatly increases the odds of him saying something really self-destructive.

One thing’s for sure – it’s interesting to see how the candidate of “change” is appearing ever more conventional, and the supposed “third Bush term” candidate is seeming more original (and he was always more authentic).

The MSM has begun laughably swallowing the Democratic talking points that she’s too inexperienced. I guess they can mention that all they want, as it simply reminds people about Obama’s experience level.

An addendum. I loved the fact that she didn’t refer to the Mccains by their first name, but referred to them as both Mr & Mrs McCain. This is the first time I’ve felt this good since listening to Ronald Reagan speak. This a great day for America.

She speaks forcefully and clearly. Her debate(s) with Biden will be interesting. If they try to attack her too hard, she will fight back, and many women won’t like Biden coming on too strong. Of course, most human beings don’t like Biden coming on too strong.

Agreed, agreed, agreed that this is a strong pick for McCain. He just did some serious jiujitsu on Obama, who picked an aging, mediocre white guy for his VP. So who’s the candidate of change now, buddy?

I’m very much on the same page as David Thomson: I also think that energy policy will be the decisive issue, and McCain tapped the governor of a very important state, who strongly advocates drilling in ANWAR.

srlucado also makes a good point about the VP debates: Biden is now one ill-considered cheap shot away from becoming The Most Hated Man in America. The only case I can see for Biden is that he’d make a good attack dog, and Palin’s presence on the ticket helps neutralize that.

She’s also in an excellent position to question Obama’s performance in his ‘selected’ chairmanship of the Chicago Annenberg Challenge – which utterly failed to improve school performance, despite its $110,000,000 slush fund. That’s the total of his executive experience, and his campaign (and its MSM support group) is doing its damndest to suppress any examination whatever of its records.

His leftist cronies no doubt are still feasting on the remnants of that vast funding. She might well come on national TV and demand to know who, exactly, did benefit from that political scam – using her successful challenge to Alaska’s potbellied Senatorial pork as a springboard.

Palin: the most shockingly brilliant political decision in 40 years. Steals the Obama media thunder and throughout the weekend, confirms Mac as the most independent maverick on the American political scene, invades the long time Democratic territory by thoroughly conquering and capturing the woman vote and introduces real change in the election.

It’s amazing to see all the lefty sites buzzing about her “lack of experience”, and some of the commenters dusting off some of the same insults that they lobbed at Hillary at Palin. Why don’t they just change their name from “The Democrat Party” to “The He-Man Woman Haters Club” and be done with it?

Stating the obvious but: She is also a babe. In her forties, five kids, and still very attractive. In today’s image-obsessed environment, that really counts for something. Obama is a handsome, impressive-looking man, great voice, great TV presence. Palin gives the McCain team someone who can counter that to a degree. And if her private and political backgrounds are relatively dirt-free, she might have a better chance at the Presidency than Hillary ever did. I don’t know what it is, but Hillary always reminds me of somebody’s nutty mom. Palin seems much more businesslike – like a really good female executive rather than a feminist crackpot. First impression, of course, but maybe it means something.

The MSM has begun laughably swallowing the Democratic talking points that she’s too inexperienced. I guess they can mention that all they want, as it simply reminds people about Obama’s experience level.

The funny thing is that by questioning her experience, they open the discussion to questions of Obama and Biden’s experience. Could someone tell me what either Obama or Biden have ever accomplished? Seriously, has either of them ever held a real job? Has either of them any executive experience at all? Has either of them accomplished ANYTHING of substance in their lives?

John McCain’s executive experience is limited to being a squadron commander in the Navy. That’s pretty thin but it’s far more than Obama and Biden combined. Sarah Palin’s executive experience is limited to being a small town mayor and being governor of a large but sparsely populated state. Still, that’s far more than Obama and Biden combined.

Michelle Caroso Cabrella (CNBC) said minutes after the speech she has always openly and on air supported Hillary, as they went to Wellesley but she felt that HRC never acted like a woman, “this woman (Palin) does.” Men, get in touch with your feminine side and ask your wife how she feels about Palin. I predict that they love her.

Predictably, the echo chamber loves this pick. McCain could’ve picked Courtney Love, and you’d be happy. I know a bit about Palin because, as a disabled person, I was taken months ago by the story of her choice to raise a child stricken with Down Syndrome. Initially, this caused her to take her name out of the first round of veep consideration, meaning someone very powerful probably talked her back into it.

What you all are missing, knowingly or not, is how powerful the Veep’s office has become these last few years, particularly in the area of foreign policy. Simply, Cheney has been, for better or worse (I think, for the most part, worse), Bush’s wartime partner. Roger has endlessly, and with much justification, talked up the war against Islamic radicalism. Now, with the Palin pick, such talk is noticeably absent. One cannot whitewash what Cheney has done for and with Bush in this war. By contrast, can someone find me even one memorable public statement Palin has made about the surge or the Iraq War generally? Either McCain is going to shift wartime power out of the veep’s office (which he has not explicitly signaled, and he’ll probably do the opposite, given his preference for Thomas/Scalia/Alito judges) and back exclusively toward the defense establishment, or not. Given the immediate reality of what the veep’s office now is, though, such a reality benefits a Washington hand like Biden, not Palin.

Oh, and this was a particularly laughable line by Roger:

“Obama looked angry to me.”

Here, Simon is again imitating the comedy stylings of Joe Lieberman. That is: after weeks of saying his opponent is weak and aloof, as well as implying that the same opponent is a traitor to his country, Roger has the nerve to act shocked when his side is called on it.

A brief comment regarding the notion that Palin is an affirmative action pick. A candidate for vice-president is never picked on the basis that he or she would be the best qualified person to replace the President. Does anyone think, for example, that JFK picked LBJ because he thought LBJ would make the best replacement for him. Of course not, the VP choice is made on the basis of the votes they can attract to the ticket.
So if Palin can bring more votes to the McCain ticket than other possible choices, she is not an affirmative action choice. She is, in fact, the best qualified for her position, i.e. bringing votes to the McCain ticket.

I did not watch Obama’s speech last night. I knew it would be the usual demagoguery and from what I have read he painted Bush as evil and America as a sort of western Zimbabwe. Same old crap. These people are totally predictable, a combination of anger and incompetence.

I was surprised when McCain picked Palin. I am a little concerned about her experience, but I am a lot more concerned about Obama’s complete lack of same.

I work with disabled people and tell me, what has Obama done for disabled people other than use them?

Bush did more for the people of Africa than any American president in history, but he won’t get credit for it. The Democrats consider that humanitarian stuff to be their turf. They won’t really accomplish much, but they will use it. And that is all it is to them, a tool.

Jay, “What you all are missing, knowingly or not, is how powerful the Veep’s office has become these last few years, particularly in the area of foreign policy.”

Oh, the P office has becomes less important, else the Dems would not have picked a community organizer for the job, one boasted his foreign policy on his childhood in Indonesia, and a tour of European capitals in the summer.

Let’s face it the less the “E” word comes up the better for Obama. “E” stands for experience, if you don’t guess.

Terrye, in a way, Palin has more executive experience than anyone else on either ticket, having been a small-town mayor before becoming governor. So I think the experience issue is kind of relative here.

She may draw a lot of the more centrist Hilary supporters, but I really think that regardless of how the election turns out, she will make an impact on the debate over energy policy. She’s a big advocate of drilling in ANWAR, she speaks with unusual authority on the issue (being, y’know, governor of Alaska), and now she’s got a national audience.

I think Palin has as much experience as Lincoln had when elected. And present day Alaska is closer in spirit to the frontier Illinois Lincoln knew than is comfy upper middle class progressive Hyde Park and the faculty lounges of academia so familiar to Obama.

Great pick by McCain! A brilliant ambush, showing all the benefits of military training, with Governor Palin as a smart-bomb dropped unerringly by McCain slap-bang on the enemy HQ. The poor bastards never saw it coming.

In doing so, McCain has completely wrong-footed the lefties, showing them up as a bunch of slow-witted stumblebums.

The Dems will now have to have Biden assassinated (blaming it on President Bush of course), in order to replace him with a woman to have any chance of neutralising Governor Palin.

A strange pick. If she’s good, she could be very helpful to McCain. If she stumbles, she’s the female Dan Quayle. But, in either case, Hillary women are NOT going to dig her. Hillary’s appeal was built on feminist victimhood, as well as empowerment through sisterhood. This chick won a beauty contest. Don’t the McCain people know how women would never be able to enter a beauty contest feel about women who win them?

I’m very excited about Gov. Palin. I don’t usually react this way to anything political, but for some reason, I became emotional at the end of her speech. Just one Kleenex-load, but that’s a lot for me.

Roger, here’s a good example of liberal decomposition from Jane Smiley at HuffPo. She actually asks if Palin pays her nanny’s social security. Stangely, I don’t remember anyone ever asking Senator Obama about his child care employment arrangements. The Nanny question is infamous to feminists, because it was mostly only used in the past to vet female candidates.

Markus, well let’s see. I wish I could find that link of Hillary supporters who things this is a great choice. Not sure where it went. Seems she will draw many of them. It was also interesting to read that many of them on the site didn’t dig the RvW references by Pelosi.

So will she garner some of those votes….most assuredly. But you forget one thing. There may be many who feel disenfranchised out there who may just not vote. A none vote for the Messiah, BO, is a plus in the R column. And I know three little old Jewish women who told me that this week in the heavy D San Fernando Valley.

Oh, and guess what lots of women out there like sharp looking women. Maybe not in Berkeley or in Manhattan, but they do in other areas of this country.

Never mind experience for a second- does Palin even have any *views* on foreign policy? And if foreign policy / the war on terror is the big issue in this campaign, and if McCain wants my vote because he’s more prepared than Obama, he shouldn’t potentially leave the country in the stewardship of a VP who, as far as I can tell, hasn’t even thought seriously about these issues. I mean, I’m glad he’s still a maverick, but I’d rather he was a smart and responsible maverick rather than an irresponsible pandering-for-votes maverick.

If she performs well in the debates then, well, I take it back. But if not, the ticket’s probably lost my vote.

Mike, the question I always like ask when one talks about “lost my vote”. So I’m guessing you would not vote for president or for Obama. So the question is how does that help your cause on the war on terror and foreign policy.

Promoguy: Well, for now call me undecided. I’m just saying I think this is a disappointing choice, and I don’t understand Roger’s unquestioning embrace of it in this post just because it’s maverick-y (which, yes, it is). I’d be a lot happier if he picked someone who I was comfortable with as a potential President (I was hoping for Ridge) instead of making this choice which seems dictated by election tactics. Especially if the reports I’m reading elsewhere are true that they’ve only even met one time or so.

Palin is not Courtney Love, but she is not, as a commenter above suggested, Abraham Lincoln.

And I love the ongoing whine that Obama bases his foreign policy chops on a trip to Indonesia. He made a flip comment in response to Hillary’s constant heavy-handedness. Get over it.

Google “Obama+Lugar+loose nukes” and see what you find. Also, I’d love bin Laden’s beard in a bag tomorrow, wouldn’t you? So how is hawking up on Pakistan-which also, by the way, screwed us on the Danny Pearl case-not emblematic of sharp foreign policy thinking?

I’m not saying the vice president runs the country, but there’s no indication Sarah Palin will be prepared to play with all the trinkets Dick Cheney has left over; that none of you can produce a single statement Palin has made about her views on Iraq proves my point. Also, if she does have to step in on major foreign policy decisions, well, here she is on Iraq, from the 12/4/2006 issue of Alaska Business Monthly: “I’ve been so focused on state government, I haven’t really focused much on the war in Iraq. I heard on the news about the new deployments, and while I support our president, Condoleezza Rice and the administration, I want to know that we have an exit plan in place; I want assurances that we are doing all we can to keep our troops safe. Every life lost is such a tragedy. I am very, very proud of the troops we have in Alaska, those fighting overseas for our freedoms, and the families here who are making so many sacrifices.”

Sigh.

And Terry, I know I’m a cranky old bastard, but your work with the disabled brought only a salute from me. To say Obama has “used” the handicapped, though, is a bit inflammatory, to say the least. I know enough of both major candidates to know they have big hearts and good intentions on matters facing the handicapped, given how much their worldviews have been shaped by disabled family members (Obama’s father-in-law died of MS, and McCain’s adopted daughter sports leg braces). My Cerebral Palsy is quite mild, so I can do very many physical things, and I think Universal Health Care is a bad idea for people like me, giving active young people an excuse to be reckless with their bodies. Obama’s plan is close to this, but thankfully not universal, and ultimately, a generous health plan is better than a streamlined one.

Obama’s plan to restore IDEA is conventional Democratic stuff, but that doesn’t make it any less necessary, so I support him over McCain there, and Obama’s call for national service is empowering.

Yes, McCain supported the ADA in 1990, but who didn’t? And do you really think his slate of judges wouldn’t chip away at that legislation, or laws like it, going too far in the name of Libertarianism?

Mike Shuster: I’m not fussy tonight at anyone who’s a skeptic. That’s okay. But be open-minded.

Does she have strong view on our forces in Iraq? Strong enough that, as a first-year Governor, she traveled to Kuwait to visit Alaska National Guard troops doing logistical support duties for our soldiers in Iraq. On her return, unlike a certain celebrity candidate, she actually did go to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, where the only photographers were the military ones who weren’t good enough for that certain celebrity candidate.

Does she have the same military and foreign affairs credentials John McCain has? No, not remotely. But she’s a complementary choice, not a duplicate. She has executive experience that no one else on either ticket possesses. She has energy expertise that no one else on either ticket possesses.

The many comments on this blog are an indication of the frenzy mode sweeping this election now, all due to Mac’s pick. All networks and
Fox led with his pick; stealing the thunder from OB/Biden.

Bill Kristol on Fox says that this pick adds a new and deeper dimension to the race. One fool opined that she could not be experienced because she had never been on “Meet the Press.”

Lest we forget: the MSM fools have no idea what sells. They may know Chevy Chase, they don’t know Louisville, Dayton or Grand Rapids Let them opine on and on about the woman voter but this pick has changed this election.

Sarah Palin, as Tony Kornheiser yucked it up on the ESPN sports show PTI, is “teacher hot.” She will appeal to women, blue collar, and conservatives. She will blow fresh air through this election; experienced or not. This pick left Chris Matthews speechless for once. That’s a good thing.

I was addressing Terry, in the context of disability policy. She noted that she works with the handicapped, which I commended before asking whether or not McCain-style justices would chip away at disability laws in the name of a libertarian agenda.

Jamie, that comment about how women who can’t enter beauty contests don’t particularly like women who win them was told to me this afternoon, by a diehard Hillraising Hillary supporter. (I don’t see it as being a terribly ugly comment — do YOU know anyone who doesn’t suffer from a little envy?)

Anyway, I kind of like her, her family, her attitude, her “milf”-ness, the nice mix of confidence and humility she showed on an old cspan interview, as well as some of what she has apparantly accomplished as governor. Most of all, I like that she saw fit to endorse MY favorite Republican, Pat Buchanan, in 1999.

The wily old pitcher had a 1-1 count against the kid who was just called up from AAA. He threw a nasty, slow curve at the kid’s head and as the kid was bailing out the ball dropped in for a strike. Now it’s 1-2 and the kid has NO IDEA what is coming next.

“What you all are missing, knowingly or not, is how powerful the Veep’s office has become these last few years, particularly in the area of foreign policy. Simply, Cheney has been, for better or worse (I think, for the most part, worse–well, aren’t you special), Bush’s wartime partner. Roger has endlessly, and with much justification, talked up the war against Islamic radicalism. Now, with the Palin pick, such talk is noticeably absent.”

Ummm, this might be obvious–Condoleezza Rice for a third term as SoS? “More of the same” that works just fine for me.

And as the rookie looks down to the third base coach for some advice, the coach throws up his hands as if to say “you hit .400 in AAA, you figure it out”…it’s amazing how someone from Ark-Kansas can drawl with their hands.

She has executive experience and even got more done to correct the overspending in Alaska and turned a deficit to surplus in 2 years. So she gets more done than other governors who are in power for several terms.

She is apparently a natural leader. Mayor to Ethics panel to Governor is a very short time span.

As a conservative she is small government, pro drilling in ANWR, pro second amendment, pro life, fiscal conservation and cleans up corruption.

This woman did not get support from the GOP since she went after a GOP incumbent and won. She is not riding on the coattails of a relative to get political power to be Governor. She literally became a Governor on her own efforts and merits. She must be good to do that bucking her own party.

So she is good on domestic policies and as good as some prior presidential candidates on foreign policy, which means none. She can learn. VP is a position that is on the job training.

However her family and her are in for a surprise in the meanness of national politics.

A) Palin today has at least as much if not more experience than Obama.
B) She is VP not P nominee.
C) Obama had to pick a Biden to try and lessen the “he has no experience” issue.
D) IF John McC should turn up his toes early; Palin would STILL have as much experience as Obama including however long as VP AND SHE COULD PICK HER OWN GRAY BEARD VP TO SUPPORT HERE PRESIDENCY!!! So you at absolute worst have a Republican version of Obama bin Biden in terms of experience.

The notion that the VP should be a de facto National Security Advisor, Secretary of State, or SecDef is surely (at the least) unconventional. That a former SecDef now occupies that office is by no means an indication that the current White House construct is necessary or even desireable. I am sure McCain has strong opinions about these matters, and that however he structures the White House Office it will be based on his considered opinion of how to make it most effective under current world circumstances.

UPDATE: Speaking of walking the walking, although she opposes same-sex marriage, which they all do, Palin seems to be by far the most advanced of all four candidates on gay rights. She’s actually put them into law. Way to go. (see Wikipedia)Really? Wikipedia says, “Palin has said she has good friends who are gay, but opposes same-sex marriage. She supported a non-binding referendum for a constitutional amendment to deny benefits to gay couples.[81] Palin has stated that she supported the 1998 constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage.” Doesn’t sound very pro-gay rights to me.

Actually, I don’t much buy the “experience” concept. Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi have all kinds of experience, and it’s led them to take al-Qaeda’s side in Iraq–unsuccessfully, even!!–and to a 17% approval rating.

I didn’t buy it against Obama, either. I didn’t oppose Obama because he hasn’t met Ahmadinejad; I opposed him because he’s dying for the chance to grovel before Ahmadinejad.

It’s obvious from Palin’s record, and her self-confident demeanor, that she has the ability to make tough decisions, and to keep coming in a fight. THAT is what we need, not someone who has been following the Foggy Bottom playbook for many years.

“Michelle Caroso Cabrella (CNBC) said minutes after the speech she has always openly and on air supported Hillary, as they went to Wellesley but she felt that HRC never acted like a woman, ‘this woman (Palin) does.’”

Supporting someone because he/she went to the same school is utterly inane.

It’s like, oh I dunno, voting for a black guy because both of you are black while accusing everyone else of being a racist.

I mean, I graduated from Princeton a year before Eliot Spitzer, and I could tell that he was a ba$stard at the age of 18.

In crawling through the minefield of the Republican primary, coming up with the Moses ads, and selecting Sarah Palin for his VP, John McCain has revealed himself to be the shrewdest political operator since Abe Lincoln. McCain shamed Obama into his trip to Iraq, shamed him into the debate at Saddleback, etc., and continues to lead while Obama responds. It looks awfully good for Sarah and the old man.